Ahh I've always wanted to make a lighthearted chapter like this! Shadow and Maria interacting with other characters are one of my favorite types of fics! :D
xii. my bff
"You are not my 'bff'." Shadow immediately declared the moment the passerby was out of earshot, clenching the vile "friendship bracelet" that was handed to them moments before by the human who felt the need to label them as such. It should've been obvious to anyone, regardless if they were sitting together and—as unusual as it was—not fighting each other, that they were not friends.
The Faker could not, and never would be, his best friend forever. The thought almost made the Ultimate Lifeform shiver in disgust.
His companion snickered, a smile creeping on his face. "Could've fooled me," Sonic responded after taking a bite of his chili-dog, uncaring of the look of disgust his fellow hedgehog gave at the sight of some sauce spilling at the corner of his mouth. Wiping it off with a gloved hand, the blue blur nodded towards the two girls, a certain pinkette and blonde human, talking animatedly beside each other, "By the way, what's with you and Maria?"
The hedgehog beside him blinked, narrowing his eyes slightly, "What about Maria and I?"
Ignoring the defensiveness in his tone, Sonic continued with a careless shrug, "You're both really close."
"Of course we are. We were separated for more than half a century."
"That's not what I meant," the cobalt hedgehog said, pausing to take another bite, "You're both really, really close. Like 'more-than-just-friends' close."
Shadow let the information sink in, his eyes flickering to said blonde as she came out with another shopping bag in tow. Upon seeing his gaze on her, Maria gave a cheerful wave, and the former did the same in return.
"You think we're mates?" He finally said, coming out as more of a statement than a question. And from the way Sonic seemed to go silent, he assumed he was correct.
"Damn," Sonic's eyes perked up to see his rival shaking his head, letting out an aggravated sigh as pulled out his wallet just as their female companions began to make their way towards them, grumbling something about, Amy and her "all-seeing tarot cards" all the while.
Honestly I feel like Shadow and Amy would be pretty good friends if they were actually given the chance to interact more often than what we saw in SA2. I mean she was the one to remind him of Maria, so it seems fair. Maybe Shadow can balance her out of her "Sonic-fangirl" mode sometimes.
Also Shadow making bets with her is hilarious, and though I'm not sure if Amy having tarot cards is canon in the games, I've just read a lot of fics were Amy has them and I rather like the idea.